Submitted by Leona Baker for the Historical Society of Salisbury Township

In 1734, James Hughes received a deed to 212 acres of land in the northeastern edge of what later became Salisbury Township. Over time, others discovered the advantages of these broad Welsh Mountain foothills. Many purchased 200-acre tracts to produce abundant sought-after crops. Mills for the goods others produced took advantage of the Pequea Creek. The busy millers had no need to name their village, "I am going to the mill" was enough.

Abraham and Nancy Dierdorf arrived in 1802, with high hopes of building a new county, making a section of their land the county seat, naming it "Cambridge," after the English university town. When a recession struck in 1818, Dierdorf had to abandon his dream and flee. By mid-19th century, Quakers had taken over. Cambridge had grown enough to support a Quaker Meeting, a Methodist church, a one-room public school, two stores, a blacksmith and wheelwright, a carpenter, butcher and shoemaker shop. Also, a literary society and a brass band. The old stonewall-enclosed Quaker cemetery is a distinctive landmark on the village's eastern edges.  

By 2002, business was brisk in the deli and the auto-repair shop, and the mill remained active. The Methodist church's seats were filled most Sundays. Houses nestled on most Cambridge lots, forming a tight and friendly neighborhood. 25 years later the mill is still open, there is a Methodist church nearby and surrounding prosperous farms operate small businesses.

Driving a country road for just a few miles north of Old Philadelphia Pike, one turns a bend at Peters Road ... and suddenly comes upon the close-knit village of Springville. This hamlet has grown little since David Cowen bought 311 acres of land from the Penn brothers in 1735. By 1851, more than 100 years later, there were still only seven homes neatly lined up along Springville Road. However, farms along Peters Road picked up their mail at the store's post office.

Hidden among the farm fields is a cemetery used by early settlers. Businesses included a store; a blacksmith shop, and, after 1836, a one-room public school, now closed since 1964.    

Joan Lorenz, in her 2002 book "The History of Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania", mentioned small businesses that then thrived in Springville: Diem's Motorcycle Shop, a blacksmith and a quilt shop. Today, businesses sprinkle the countryside, all calling Springville their village: a large RV campground, a gourd farm sales venue, an orchard and fruit market, a bake shop and several roadside stands.  

By 1743, a small settlement called Mt. Pleasant had been established on what is today known as Churchtown Road, about two miles north of Old Philadelphia Pike ( Route 340). No Lancaster County records recognize further building in the area until 1807. Long before the state mandated schooling for its youth, Mt. Pleasant leaders established a school in 1813. With no records to disagree, it can be posited that this was the second oldest school in Salisbury Township, the first being in Gap.

A mill, a store with a post office inside, and undoubtedly a blacksmith shop would also have been part of the village. Outlying farms would have called the hamlet their "town." Today roadside stands seem to dominate the business side of this quiet hamlet.